The Power of Branding

A brand is the perception of your business and building a brand will take time, patience and diligence. Building a powerful brand can reinforce and strengthen the public’s recognition of your product or service. The perception and reputation of your brand can drive improve advertising, strengthen marketing, drive sales and boost revenue. A powerful brand is not just a logo. With it comes a power connection to customers, who understand that the brand doesn’t just signify a product, but also its qualities.

Branding Leads People to Your Product

As The New York Times observes, people often make their decisions based on the perception or the reputation of the source. And they are always evaluating and making judgments on the things they buy and use. Add to that, they also often evaluate products and services based on the reputation they project. A brand can include a logo, a slogan, advertising, product packaging or anything else used to describe the business and the products or services it sells. A brand doesn’t just reflect the product, but also the styles and sensibilities of their customers. Plus, it guides customers to your product.

Branding Communicate a Message

Brands can communicate both a rational and an emotional message about the product. The rational side of the brand focuses on the products ability to meet needs, solve a problem or make life easier. A brand can also reflect an emotional side through its product design, advertisements, outreach, customer service and the overall experience a consumer experiences with the product. This includes a clear set of rules and standards that govern how the brand behaves. For example, if the brand is designed to reflect quality and elegance, then it probably shouldn’t have a logo that looks like it belongs on a fast food restaurant.

Building a Brand

There is no easy way to build a powerful brand. It’s done through creating a great product and continuous focus on promoting and improving it. There are several elements to a good branding program and when applied across all parts of the business, a brand is a strategic asset with great power. But while a branding can draw customers to your product, it can’t fix problems or issues you have with customers in other areas of your business. Perceptions of your brand can always change, therefore, maintaining and building upon your brand’s reputation should be a top priority.

Branding Creates a Perception

Think about some of the advertisements you see. Beer commercials on TV don’t just sell a drink, but a fun and exciting lifestyle that comes with the can. Jewelry commercials have the look and feel of elegance that they want their potential customers to associate with their product. In these cases, the brand goes beyond the colors, typefaces and designs used in their logos. Branding is the perception of the product, of which the logo and colors are only a part.

Power and Reach

Brands can have various levels of power and reach. Powerful brands have a reputation for great products and service and most consumers associate these brands as the highest quality. However, not all powerful brands have a strong reach. For example, some imported cars like Audi have a strong brand, but are expensive and can be harder to find, which limits their reach. But some powerful brands do have a high reach. A good example is Google, whose product is valued and widely used, but isn’t out of reach of the everyday consumer.

Building a Brand

There is no easy way to build a powerful brand. It’s done through creating a great product and continuous focus on promoting and improving it. There are several elements to a good branding program and when applied across all parts of the business, a brand is a strategic asset with great power. But while a branding can draw customers to your product, it can’t fix problems or issues you have with customers in other areas of your business. Perceptions of your brand can always change, therefore, maintaining and building upon your brand’s reputation should be a top priority.